Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 April 7, 2020
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Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 1 Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 This reflects data in agency systems as of May 7, 2020. While most clerks have completed data entry for the April 2020 election, some jurisdictions continue to record or revise data. Older data used different reporting conventions and terminology; therefore, the contents of some data fields may differ when comparing information from different years. April 7, 2020 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted1 1,555,263 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 395,463 25.4% Ballots Cast Absentee 1,159,800 74.6% April 7, 2020 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 1,303,985 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 1,159,800 88.9% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected – After 4/13 2,659 0.20% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - Other 20,537 1.57% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 120,989 9.27% April 2, 2019 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 1,207,569 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 1,061,465 87.90% Ballots Cast Absentee 146,104 12.10% April 2, 2019 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 166,846 100.00 Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 146,104 87.57% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - Other 2,492 1.49% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 18,250 10.94% 1 An additional 21,301 absentee ballot records were created by clerks but deactivated for administrative reasons (e.g. clerk error, voter error, voter request, voter refused, etc.). This represents approximately 1.6% of the total absentee ballot records. Since 2016, the median rate of administrative cancellations is approximately 2.3% of the total absentee ballot records created, with a range of 1.1% (November 2018) to 4.0% (April 2016). Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 2 November 6, 2018 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 2,673,308 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 2,094,208 78.34% Ballots Cast Absentee 579,100 21.66% November 6, 2018 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 595,914 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 579,100 97.17% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes 1,379 0.23% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 15,435 2.59% April 3, 2018 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 997,485 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 888,715 89.09% Ballots Cast Absentee 108,770 10.90% April 3, 2018 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 125,936 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 108,770 86.37% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes 2,845 2.26% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 14,321 11.37% Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 3 April 4, 2017- All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 708,711 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 629,649 88.84% Ballots Cast Absentee 79,062 11.16% April 4, 2017 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 100,249 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 79,062 77.88% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes 1,982 1.95% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 19,205 18.91% November 8, 2016 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 3,004,051 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 2,184,735 72.72% Ballots Cast Absentee 819,316 27.27% November 8, 2016 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 845,243 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 819,316 96.93% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes 11,447 1.35% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 14,480 1.71% Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 4 April 5, 2016 - All Ballots Ballot Status Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Ballots Counted 2,113,544 100.00% Ballots Cast In Person 1,898,891 89.84% Ballots Cast Absentee 214,653 10.15% April 5, 2016 - Absentee Ballots Ballot Status Absentee Ballot Count % of Ballots Total Absentee Ballots Sent 233,073 100.00% Absentee Ballots Returned and Counted 214,653 92.10% Absentee Ballots Returned and Rejected - All Causes 5,860 2.51% Absentee Ballots Not Returned 12,560 5.39% Absentee Voting by Method 2016-2020 4/5/2016 11/8/2016 4/4/2017 4/3/2018 11/6/2018 4/2/2019 4/7/2020 Total Ballots 2113544 3004051 708711 997485 2673308 1207569 1555263 Absentee Ballots 214653 819316 629649 888715 579100 146104 1159800 Absentee In Person 43911 674514 30380 55457 413882 80577 195367 Absentee By Mail 170742 144802 599269 833258 165218 65527 964433 Exhibit A Absentee Voting Data 2016-2020 For the April 2020 Absentee Voting Report Page 5 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote Absentee Ballot Status The data below is entirely dependent upon manual data entry by 1,850 jurisdictions throughout the State of Wisconsin. Most clerks have completed recording participation and are now performing reconciliation tasks to correct errors. After initially recording data, the system also runs a reconciliation audit where it compares related numbers and flags anomalies; therefore, the numbers below will change as clerks enter data and as they complete the reconciliation process. In addition, clerks have the option to choose from a variety of predefined ballot status types and sometimes interpret ballot status definitions differently. This was particularly relevant to the April 7, 2020 election, since the normal statutory deadlines associated with absentee ballot return did not apply. For example, the status “Ballot Not Returned by Deadline” is sometimes used by clerks to mean different things. In this case, some clerks interpreted the status to mean ballots not postmarked by April 7th, while others interpreted it as ballots not returned by April 13th. Still others thought it meant any ballots that have not been returned to the clerk. The reconciliation process allows clerks the opportunity to revise figures using uniform definitions, thus we can expect the figures to continue changing slightly in the future. Absentee Type Ballot Status Reason Ballot Count % of Ballots Ballot Returned and Counted 1,159,800 88.94% Rejected - Certification Insufficient 14,042 1.08% Rejected - Postmarked After Election Day 5,526 0.42% Rejected - Ballot Not Returned by 4:00 pm 2,659 0.20% April 13th Deadline1 Returned Rejected - Superseding Ballot Returned 795 0.06% Ballots Rejected - Certificate Envelope 98 0.01% Compromised2 Rejected - Voter Deceased Before Election 25 0.00% Day Rejected - Voter Ineligible 31 0.00% Rejected – Other 20 0.00% Unreturned Ballots Ballot Not Returned 120,989 9.28% Request Cancelled by Clerk 10,563 n/a Request Cancelled by Voter 10,185 n/a Admin Ballot Returned Undeliverable 4,960 n/a Action Voter Refused Ballot from SVD3 301 n/a Voter Ineligible to Receive Ballot 252 n/a Since the April 17, 2020 report, most figures increased as clerks continued entering data. Three fields declined: 1. Rejected – Ballot Not Returned by 4:00 p.m. April 13th Deadline. (Previous figure 4,678) This field previously included some ballots that were not returned at all and should have been documented as “Ballot Not Returned.” The new figure more accurately reflects ballots that were returned to clerks but arrived late. 2. Rejected – Certificate Envelope Compromised. (Previous figure 229) This field previously included ballots listed as pending rejection by the Board of Canvassers. The lower number indicates that Boards of Canvassers decided to accept some ballots after assessing the reported damage to the certificate envelope. 3. Voter Refused Ballot from SVD. (Previous figure 304) This figure appears to have been revised to correct a data entry error. .